It is known to employ paperboard carriers which grip the top portions of cans so that most of the can height is unenclosed. One such carrier design consists of a top panel spaced from a bottom panel by short side panels, with the top portions of the cans located in the space between the top and bottom panels. The cans are introduced to the carrier through apertures in the bottom panel and typically are held in place by support tabs which extend up from the bottom panel to engage the underside of the can chimes. Finger openings in the top panel or in both top and bottom panels enable the carrier to be lifted and carried.
Paperboard carriers of this type are more comfortable to carry than the thin plastic carriers which are sometimes used to grip the top portions of beverage cans. They are inexpensive to manufacture, are environmentally acceptable and include a substantially unbroken top panel surface which not only prevents dirt from accumulating on the tops of the cans but also provides ample space for printed indicia. Certain designs, however, make it difficult to engage the can chimes with support tabs throughout the circumference of the can. For example, it is desirable to provide glue flaps which extend up from the bottom panel and overlie a portion of the can tops, placing them in position to be glued to the top panel. Such glue flaps supplement the usual overlapping type of glue flap that runs along the edge portions of the carrier, strengthening the carrier. Because space limitations require the supplemental glue flaps to be foldably connected to the bottom panel adjacent the aperture through which the cans extend, the flaps take up a significant circumferential portion of each aperture, so that there is no room for a support tab in that location. The lack of support for the container in this area is a problem which was addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,971, dated Apr. 14, 1992. In the design disclosed in the patent a support tab is provided between spaced legs of a supplemental glue flap, with the spaced legs being connected to the bottom panel of the carrier. While this arrangement results in the provision of support tabs which substantially continuously engage the chime of an associated can, there is a danger that the short connections between the supplemental glue flaps and the bottom panel may tear when exposed to lifting stresses. Another problem is the potential for the area of the bottom panel between the finger holes and adjacent can-receiving openings to tear or distort when subjected to lifting stresses.
It is therefore an object of the invention to strengthen the supplemental glue flaps of a clip-type carrier while readily supporting the packaged articles substantially throughout their circumference. Another object of the invention is to additionally reinforce the area of the bottom support panel between the finger holes and the adjacent article-receiving openings.